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July 24, 2009

As many of you know, Ford is one of my clients. You may wonder what I do all day. And now you have your answer. I hang out outside Ford World Headquarters and pose on Ford vehicles. That's right, I'm a car model.

Tawny Kitaen would be jealous if my usually absurdly skinny calf didn't look like Tom Brady's for some odd reason in this photo. (Or not. But props to the Plaid Nation crew for snapping this beaut during their visit to Dearborn to pick up their sweet wrapped Ford Flex for their Plaid Nation 2009 Roadtrip.)

In all seriousness, one of the big social media programs I've been working on for Ford is an event that happened today in Chicago - the What Women Want Quality & Tech Event with BlogHer.com. We worked with BlogHer to bring 60 of their awesomest* bloggers to Chicago a day ahead of the big BlogHer Conference for an all day event at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant.

The day was jam packed - and the women got to rotate between a number of different hands on modules around Safety, Sustainability, Technology, and Manufacturing. Even though I helped organize the social media side of things and knew what was coming I was still impressed, as I was still seeing it all for the first time. Some highlights included:

One on One Access to Ford Insiders: Various modules were lead by the actual movers and shakers at Ford - from Amy Marentic (North American Car and Crossover Planning Manager), to Sheryl Connely (Global Trends & Futuring Manager), to Carrie Majeski (Sustainability, and 25 year veteran of Ford - at right.) It was truly amazing to hear these kick ass women speak about their passion and transfer their excitement to others.

Technology Demos: There were hands on demos set up for all Ford's latest and greatest smart technology - including MyKey, Active Park Assist, and Cross Traffic Alert. Check out this video below for a demo by one of Ford's steering engineers, along with blogger reactions.

Tour of Chicgao Assembly Plant: After receiving eye protection, yellow safety vests, and a small head set so we could hear our tour guide we were walked around the 2 million + square foot Chicago Assembly Plant where Ford manufactures Lincoln MKS and the new 2010 Ford Taurus. If you ever have a chance to do something like this, jump. It was really amazing to see how a car is put together - a total marriage of technology, machines, and humans. Also, very impressed with the extent to which Ford goes to maintain quality. If there is even the smallest quality issue on the line they shut it down until it's resolved so that no other vehicles are impacted. Additionally, if you call your dealer with a complaint it takes less than 24 hours for that to travel back to the plant where your vehicle was manufactured. I'll spare you the hideous picture of me in the plant tour get up, and instead give you this rad picture of cars in the air...

Test Drives: Getting the chance to test driving 2010 vehicles that haven't hit the road yet was also a big hit. Check out this great video of the BlogHer ladies test drive reactions:

What Women Want Brainstorm: The day ended with break out brainstorms so that Ford could listen to what the bloggers learned from their readers and their day, and take the insights back with them to Dearborn. Be on the look out for our What Women Want Vehicle Check List - which will summarize a lot of this great conversation.

#fordblogher: And finally, what would a blogger event be without a sweet hash tag and a constant stream of Twittering? As always seeing reactions, suggestions and questions in real time helped make the experience all the more interactive.

April 03, 2008

We talk a lot about the value of engaging influencers both online and offline. The impact of online engagement can be greatly increased and amplified by a smart corresponding offline experience.

Digital Influence has demonstrated this firsthand through our work with Ford to create the Are We There Yet project, which gave Mom and Dad bloggers access to a new Ford Taurus for a family road trip. Natalie Johnson (GM) and Erin Kane (Manic Mommies) shared how GM has been jumping into this space.

Manic Mommies was planning an Escape Weekend for their readers and listeners, GM expressed interest in being involved in an unobtrusive way that complemented the tone of the weekend - which was a break for Mom. GM provided product experiences all weekend long by picking up all the moms at the airport, and driving them around to the weekend's events (which many moms noted was a great change from the norm when THEY chauffeur kids and husbands around!) Not only did this get women (a demographic that feels generally uncomfortable in dealerships) IN vehicles, but they also made Starbucks stops.

Outcome:

Before the event 34% of the women said they'd consider purchasing a GM vehicle, afterwards that number jumped to 92%.

73% of attendees said their perception of GM had changed.

Got in touch with a core purchasing audience who came away with the perception that GM is "listening and trying harder".

March 29, 2008

People generally freak out when I tell them that I street park my car in Georgetown. It goes something like this, "Oh my god blah blah blah how do you blah blah blah awful blah blah blah weekends." Surprisingly, even living below Wisconsin I rarely have trouble finding Zone 2 parking more than a few blocks from my house.

Part of the reason I don't have trouble parking is that I drive the shortest car currently available for purchase in the US and am a parallel parking NINJA. Exhibit A is not the tightest job I've ever pulled off - but is indicative of the kind of spots I'm able to finagle while asshats in SUVs are circling the block.

The only downside to this is that my car size to spot size barometer has become horribly warped. I'm contantly encouraing my friends who drive compact cars (like Civics, etc.) to try to wedge into spots that would be tight for a Vespa. Whoopsie.

March 24, 2008

A few months ago I posted about how the Big Three automakers were foolish not to engage existing brand fans in a deeper conversation a la Microsoft's MVP Program. Because the Big Three are fortunate enough to be selling an "identity" product, and can tap an incredibly well developed online vertical chock full of knowledgeable consumers, it seemed like an obvious step towards improving their struggling corporate reputations.

I'm happy to report that Chrysler has gone in just that direction - launching a Customer Advisory Board. The Customer Advisory Board will be a closed community comprised of 2,000 Chrysler owners and Chrysler prospects. Members will be able to engage in social networking with each other and maintain a long-term conversation with Chrysler - who plans to use the community to receive ongoing feedback on everything from vehicle design to features to fuel efficiency to product marketing.

Interestingly, Mack Collier at Viral Garden has a relevant post up today recapping his SXSW panel, "The Future of Corporate Blogging," where he talks about how companies should be approaching Web 2.0 and the types of conversation it enables with consumers. Mack notes, "it's not about these social media tools, but it's about the conversations that these tools help facilitate. And it's no longer about blogs, it's about companies having multiple touchpoints with customers in order to spark as much interaction as possible," going on to say, "it's about putting a human face on a corporation." As Spike from Brains on Fire says, "A-freakin-men"

January 24, 2008

Last night I attended a small dinner hosted by executives
from General Motors, who were in town for the opening of the DC Auto Show, and
announcements about their Project Driveway program, which is giving a handful of DC area
drivers fuel cell Chevy Equinoxes (Equinoxi?) for three months of road testing. With Mark LeNeve (VP of Sales, Service & Marketing) and
Beth Lowrey (VP of Environment and Energy) anchoring the event, most of the
thirty attendees were members of the mainstream media, however (lucky for me),
GM had wisely thrown some of the DC's “blogerati” into the mix.

One topic discussed at dinner was how GM can close the gap
between “perception and reality” regarding the quality of domestic vehicles,
and effectively increase awareness and consideration for their products. Certainly a tough question, but one I think
the Big Three has never been in a better position to answer given the current
consumer culture and social media environment.

Consumers now expect their voices to be heard by companies,
and authentic two-way communication with brands is de rigeur. Programs like GM’s Project Driveway, Ford’s “Are We There Yet”
project (an Ogilvy PR 360 Digital Influence project which gave Mom and Dad bloggers the new Ford Taurus for a summer road
trip) and MiniCooper’s Owners Lounge community are obvious nods to this
trend. However, I would love to see a
Big Three automaker develop a really comprehensive brand ambassador program, a
la Microsoft’s MVPs – with brand fans involved at every stage of a product
cycle.

The chart below (from Microsoft’s Sean O’Driscoll’s
presentation at this year’s WOMMA Summit) illustrates the myriad of ways that
Microsoft engages their MVPs to add value to their product cycle.

Imagine what an automotive company could do with this model,
given how passionate (and knowledgeable) consumers are about their vehicles.
Not only would a company benefit from consumer input at each stage outlined
above, but the longer term benefit of creating a new channel to communicate
with consumers would be invaluable – especially to a domestic automaker looking
for credibility.

Word of mouth is the oldest form of advertising, and with studies showing that 8 out of 10 consumers value world of mouth from a trusted
source over all other forms of communication - it seems like a great time for automakers, who are lucky enough to be pushing strong identity brands, to make a move in this direction.

April 09, 2007

Make The Logo Bigger points us to yet another clever local care dealership ad. (Seriously, where are these all coming from?? It's like they all got stirred with the funny spoon...).

While this one is good (who doesn't love ninjas, choirs, doves, fire and princesses. Per my post last week, I still give Clay Automotive my vote. Why you ask? While this spot is clever, could you imagine seeing it on TV more than twice? It would quickly morph from the (self-proclaimed!) Greatest Auto Dealer Commercial Of All Time to Most Annoying Thing I've Ever Seen That I Want Off My Fucking TV Right Away.

April 05, 2007

Clay Automotive, of Boston, has literallyopened the kimono in
their new ads hosted on YouTube. One video, titled "Let's Get
Naked" features a portly salesman who notes, "hosed, cheated,
scammed, porked... there are a lot of names for what happens in a
dealer showroom, and most of them are unsavory." The spot then goes on to discuss the, "7 hidden ways car dealers take you," and how Clay Automotive will help you avoid these common pitfalls.

Clay Automotive's tagline is "We'll show you everything", which they take quite literally as the salesman strips down to his skivvys demanding to know if we'd rather see him "cloaked in lies" or if "his semi-naked body is more grotesque than what happens to good decent citizens in car show rooms every day." If you really can't stand the dude naked, you can venture on over to the Clay Automotive website to Dress The Sales Guy, who is now wearing even LESS (think leopard print panties...yyyeeeah).

So let's get this straight, a local car dealer out of Boston is able to
create humorous, well-directed viral video spots and a corresponding
website that actually resonates with the online public? Stop the
presses!!

February 22, 2007

Despite early statements by GM that they would not
change their controversial Super Bowl Robot suicide ad because it was,
"a story of GM's commitment to quality. It is not intended to offend
anyone," the Lansing State Journal reports that GM has in fact edited the ad in question.

The article reports that, "Now, instead of suicide it tries out
entry-level jobs stocking shelves and parking cars and even has bad
dreams of cars in the scrap yard before waking up."

New Media Strategies, an online brand management firm that tracks
online buzz, ranked the spot as one of the least liked ads of the Super
Bowl - with 46% of online buzz about the spot being unfavorable in
nature as consumers reacted to the suicide aspect, as well as the fact
that the ad does not treat the issue of domestic auto industry layoffs
sensitively. The ad cost more than $5 million to air.

The ad was edited under pressure from the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention. As AdRants commented a few weeks ago,
"America is officially insane."

February 19, 2007

While poking around GM's website today I came across the Cadillac Drivers' Log, which is authored by Rob Kotorak (the Lead Development Engineer for Cadillac CTS cars) and another engineer, Liz Pillibosian.

The Cadillac Drivers' Llog was started in late January and featured just three posts in its first 10 days, though has had nearly one a day since February 12. The blog focuses on 2008 CTS test drives past and present in locales from Death Valley to Northern Michigan to Northern Sweden. Posts feature behind the scenes photos and commentary on a superficial and more indepth level - making the blog appealing to core enthusiasts as well as more casual readers. Reader commentary has been sporadic but present.

But, like so many other viral initiatives undertaken by automakers, there is apparently little to no cross-branding for this blog on other GM or Cadillac websites. The Cadillac site (even the 2008 CTS portion) has no obvious link to the site, and Technorati reveals just four links, two of which come from GM's FastLane blog (the heralded industry-first blog started by Vice Chairman Bob Lutz). Additionally, a quick Google reveals that there has been no coverage of the blog in traditional media outlets. It's almost like these sites are created to check the "viral marketing" box, and then given no love whatsoever.

So this begs the question, if a tree falls in the forest and no one's there to hear it, does it make any noise blog is created to help brand a car and no one reads it, was it worth the effort?

February 08, 2007

ABC News Radio reported this morning that General Motors had decided to pull its "Robot" Super Bowl ad after receiving pressure from The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The spot in question features a cute assembly line robot fleeing the plant after dropping a bolt, only to take to the streets and see beautiful GM cars all around. The robot eventually attempts to take his own life by jumping off a bridge - and wakes with a start to find himself back in the factory.

I think many people, including myself, have been touched by suicide in their lives, but this ad did not trigger any kind of "Heeeere we go" reaction from me (a la the Snickers controversy), and I'm a pretty PC person. What's next? The Coalition of Flat Chested Women protesting the GoDaddy ads? I hear the CFCW has some extensive funding and friends in high places...

(Edit: Detroit News reports that GM will NOT infact pull the ad stating that it is "a story of GM's commitment to quality It is not intended to offend anyone." Stay tuned for details...)